Deja Vu
by brookgavin
Summary: full summary inside. this is a future fic for HSM. please read it before you judge it...
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** After East High, Troy and Gabriella reluctantly went their separate ways. Troy ended up at Duke while Gabi was offered a scholarship at Brown. Even after vowing they would get back together, both found love without each other. Now, Troy and Gabi are both forty with fifteen year olds of their own, Reyna Bolton and Bryce Montez-Armando. Will things be different for Bryce and Reyna, or will it be déjà vu?

**A/N:** this is my fifth story! I've had a penname on this site for a year now, but I've only been an author on this site for what? A week? I'm not sure… anyways, please read!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Troy, Gabriella, or any of the original HSM characters. All copyrights belong to Disney. However, I do own Rachelle, Carlos, Reyna, Bryce, Braun, Monique, Gina, Luke, and other children of the original HSM characters I will make up along the way…

Reyna Bolton dodged past her father and dunked the basketball through the net. "That's what I'm talking about!" Troy shouted proudly.

Yes, Troy Bolton moved on from Gabriella in college, got married, and had a daughter.

The Bolton's were staying at the exact same ski lodge on this New Years Eve that Troy and his parents had stayed twenty-five years ago. It was also the exact same lodge where Troy and Gabriella first met.

Troy and Rae were in the gym, practicing lay-ups. Rae was the captain of the varsity basketball team at East High.

"Troy, Reyna, did we really come all this way just to play more basketball?" a voice asked. The father and daughter basketball stars turned around to see Rachelle Everett-Bolton, Troy's wife and Reyna's mom, standing there in a nice dark blue dress with her hands on her hips.

Troy and Reyna exchanged glances before looking back at Rachelle and saying in unison, "Yeah." "C'mon, it's the last night of vacation. Reyna, there's a kids party in the lounge," Rachelle said. "Kids party mom?" Rae whined. "Young adults, now go shower up and get dressed. I have an outfit lain out for you on your bed," Rachelle said. Rae sighed and left the court. "She's a natural," Rachelle sighed. "Yeah," Troy smiled as he left to hit the showers.

Meanwhile…

A boy of fifteen with olive skin, slightly wavy brown hair, and bright hazel eyes was sitting on a lodge bed reading a book when his mother came up behind him and said, "Bryce, you've been reading that book every day we've been at this lodge." "It's a good book mom. I can't put it down," Bryce said still reading. "Son, it's the last night of vacation. There's a teen party in the lounge, why don't you go?" Carlos Armando asked his son. "But mom, dad," Bryce whined. "No buts Bryce, you're going to that party," Gabi stated softly but firmly. Bryce sighed softly and went to change into a nicer outfit.

Rae walked into the teen party shyly. She was wearing a Michael Stars waist deep V-neck gray belle sleeve tunic over a satin emerald green camisole on top. For bottoms, she wore rum colored suede capris and green kitten heel sandals. A gray elastic headband held most of her dark brown hair away from her face except for a small section about half an inch wide framing the right side of her face. She wore pale pastel green eye shadow with a pale pink blush and light pink lip gloss.

She saw two teens up on a karaoke stage singing a country song. Rae leaned up against a wall and just watched the party, not interested in it at all.

Bryce slowly walked into the teen party, looking for the nearest couch.

He was wearing a shirt exactly like Troy had worn that night twenty-five years ago except the base color of the shirt was a pale forest green with a gray/blue pattern near his sides. For bottoms, he wore charcoal gray jeans and soft white colored tennis shoes.

He found a couch two yards behind the karaoke stage, sat down, and started to read his book which he had snuck in the party.

Soon, the two teens that had been singing finished their song and got off the stage. The MC got up on the stage and asked into one of the microphones, "Alright, who's next?"

A spotlight landed on Rae, the other landing on Bryce. "I don't sing," Bryce protested as two other boys pushed him towards the stage. Rae was silent as the MC took her hand and led her up on the stage. The MC smirked as he put the microphone in Rae's hands. She slipped it into the stand and looked over at Bryce, but he was looking away from her. The music started and Bryce and Rae looked up at the screen. It read "Start of Something New."

_Bryce_

Rae

**Together**

_Living in my own world,_

_Didn't understand…_

_That anything can happen,_

_When you take a chance…_

Rae sighed before following

I never believed in,

What I couldn't see…

I never opened my heart,

_Oh…_

To all the possibilities, ooh

**I know**

That something has changed

**Never felt this way**

And right here tonight…

**This could be the start of something new**

It feels so right

**To be here with you, oh!**

**And now looking in your eyes,**

I feel in my heart…

_Feel in my heart…_

**The start of something new**

_Oh, yeah!_

_Now who'd have ever thought that,_

_Mm,_

**We'd both be here tonight**

_Oh_

Yeah

And the world looks so much brighter

_Brighter, brighter_

**Oh!**

With you by my side!

_By my side!_

**I know**

That something has changed

**Never felt this way**

I know it for real

**This could be the start of something new**

**It feels so right**

**To be here with you, oh!**

**And now looking in your eyes,**

**I feel in my heart… the start of something new**

_I never knew that it could happen_

_Till it happened to me…_

_OOHH, yeah!_

**I didn't know it before**

But now it's easy to see

**OOOHHH!**

**It's the start of something new,**

**It feels so right to be here with you, oh!**

**And now looking in your eyes, **

**I feel in my heart….**

**That it's the start, of something new**

**It feels so right**

_So right!_

**To be here with you**

_oh!_

**And now looking in your eyes,**

_Looking in YOUR eyes…_

I feel in my heart…

_Feel in my_

**Heart….**

The start of something new

_Start of something new_

**Start of something new…**

"Bryce," he said, sticking his hand out. "Reyna," she introduced, shaking his hand. The stood there smiling at each other, not hearing the massive cheers surrounding them.

REVIEW! (please…) XD


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here's chapter 2 of Déjà Vu.

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Bryce and Rae were now out on the balcony and Bryce asked, "So, do you take voice lessons?" "Nope, I'm more of a basketball person," Rae said, "But it sounds like you do a lot of singing." "I'm more into scholastics," Bryce said, "But you sounded really good." "Thanks, same to you," Rae complimented.

The two sighed and looked up at the sky as people inside the lounge started the countdown, "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Bryce and Rae looked up at the fireworks and then at each other. The space between their faces was decreasing by the second and before the gap closed, Rae said, "Well, I guess I better go wish my parents a happy new year." "Uh, yeah, same," Bryce said awkwardly. "Hey, I-I'll call you tomorrow," he said quickly. "Sure," Rae said. "Here, put your number in," Bryce said handing her his cell as she did likewise. They entered their numbers and snapped pictures before handing them back.

They walked back into the lounge together and saw most of the people had cleared out. Rae saw her dad looking for her, and Bryce saw his mom looking for him.

Suddenly, Troy and Gabi's eyes locked and widened. Rae and Bryce had seen this and were very confused.

"Do you think our parents already know each other?" Bryce asked.

"I don't know, but from the looks of it, yes," Rae asked.

Both teens watched as their parents crossed the room to get a closer look at each other.

When the adults were closer, Rae and Bryce walked over to their parents. "Uh, dad, this is my new friend, Bryce Montez-Armando," Rae introduced.

Troy was silent.

"And mom, this is my new friend Rae Bolton," Bryce said.

Gabi was silent as well.

Out of nowhere, Gabi said, "Thanks for waiting for me Troy." With that, she put her arm around her son's shoulders and walked away.

Rae, looking very confused, asked, "Dad, what did she mean?" "It's nothing of your concern Rae. C'mon, your mom wants you back in the suite," Troy said walking out of the lounge. Rae followed, still curious.

The next day, Troy ushered his wife and daughter out of the lodge earlier than planned, not wanting to have another encounter with Gabi.

He'd never told anyone about her, not even his own wife.

On the way to the airport, Rae called Bryce.

"Hey," Bryce said, picking up the call. "Hey, last night was kind of weird," Rae said. "You can say that again. Mom was acting all weird after she brought me back to the suite. She was all quiet and she's usually very talkative," Bryce said. "Dad made us leave early this morning, and I don't know why," Rae said.

"So that's why I couldn't find you," Bryce muttered. "Y-you were looking for me?" Rae asked.

She could practically hear him thinking, 'Did I just say that into the phone?'

"Uh, you know, just to, uh, talk and… stuff," Bryce said, mentally smacking himself.

"Oh, so, what do you think your mom meant last night? You know, the whole, 'Thanks for waiting for me Troy,' thing. She said it sarcastically, so something has to be up with them," Rae said. "Yeah, but what could it be?" Bryce asked rhetorically.

Rae sighed and said, "I'm boarding now. I'll call when we land." "Ok, talk to you later," Bryce said. "Bye." Rae flipped her phone closed and boarded the plane back to Albuquerque with her parents.

"Dad, do you know Bryce's mom?" Rae asked.

The Bolton's were eating dinner and Troy stopped, his fork halfway to his mouth. He set it down and said, "No."

"Are you sure? 'Cause it seemed like it. You know, how she knew your name and how she was talking to you," Rae asked taking another bite of her dinner.

"Troy, what is Reyna talking about?" Rachelle asked. "I haven't a clue," Troy lied.

"Dad, that's not true. You had to know her! She knew your name! She had to recognize you from somewhere!" Rae stormed, pounding her fist on the table.

"Troy, what is she talking about?" Rachelle repeated. Troy sighed and said, "I can't tell you."

"Why can't you Troy?" Rachelle asked. "I just can't," Troy said getting up from the table.

He walked away and Rae and Rachelle could hear a door slam. Rachelle sighed and cleared the dishes.

Meanwhile in Trenton, New Jersey…

When Bryce and his mom and dad got home, he noticed that there was a lot of furniture gone.

He dashed up to his room and saw that all of his posters had been taken down, his closet had been emptied, and one of his two dressers was gone, as was his desk, all that had been on it, and his bookshelf and books.

One thought entered his mind, but he shook it from his head. 'She wouldn't. She promised,' Bryce thought.

Bryce was sitting on his bed, surfing the web on his laptop when his mom called him downstairs.

"Yeah?" Bryce asked as he sat down on the living room couch beside his dad.

"Bryce, we're moving," Gabi said.

"MOVING? WHAT?" Bryce shouted.

"It's for my job Bryce. I don't have a choice," Gabi said.

"Mom, we've moved five times in the last three years, moving here to NJ included. You promised that we were staying here! I can't believe you! You always tell me to never break a promise, and then you go against your own rule! I HATE YOU!" Bryce shouted.

"Bryson Lorenzo Montez-Armando, you will not speak to your mother that way!" Carlos shouted at his son. "But she promised dad! She promised!" Bryce shouted before running up to his room and slamming his door shut.

He collapsed on his bed and buried his face in his pillow. He couldn't believe it. His whole life had been moving.

Bryce was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was two years old, and had made friends with a boy named Braun Danforth, when his family moved to Westchester, New York. Bryce had just turned five, and had only just made his first real friend, when his mom said they were moving again. This time it was to Columbus, Ohio. Bryce made friends there, but only three months later, his family moved to Oregon. Bryce and his parents lived in Oregon for three years.

It gave him hope that he had finally found a real hometown, but he was wrong.

Only a few weeks after his eighth birthday, Bryce moved to Georgia. Six months later, it was Kansas. A year and half after that, it was back to Westchester. Bryce and his family lived in Westchester for two years, and then it was off to Sacramento. Two months later, San Francisco. Ten months later, South Carolina. One year later, it was Montana. Six months later, Colorado, and one month later, New Jersey.

'I wonder where we're headed now…' was the last thing in Bryce's head before he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Bryce woke up to the smell of his mom's famous chocolate chip pancakes.

He stumbled out of bed in plaid flannel pajama pants and a white under shirt.

He sat down on a bar stool at the kitchen bar next to his dad as his mom put a plate of pancakes in front of him along with a glass of orange juice.

"When're we heading out?" Bryce asked.

"Three days," Gabi answered.

Bryce finished his breakfast in silence, got dressed, and called Rae.

He needed to talk to someone since all of his in town friends were on vacation.

"Hey Bryce, what's up?"

"I'm moving," he said sullenly.

"Awesome, a new adventure," Rae said, trying to sound upbeat for him.

"Rae, my whole life has been moving. I've moved more times than I can remember, and my mom promised that we were staying here in New Jersey until I graduated from high school," Bryce explained.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Rae said.

"It's ok. Maybe we'll move somewhere exciting this time like Hawaii or Florida," Bryce sighed.

"Do you know where you're moving?" Rae asked.

"Unfortunately, not. My mom hasn't said, but I know I'm moving in three days, this weekend," Bryce said.

In the background, he heard, "Rae, will you hang up with your boyfriend? I'm dying to hit Yvonne's!"

Bryce could practically see her blush.

"Shut up Monique! He's not my boyfriend!" Rae shouted.

'I wonder if Rae's talking to Monique Danforth; man, I haven't seen her in a while,' Bryce thought.

"Well hurry up! The mall closes in five hours and I still need to find a pair of gray jeans," Monique ushered.

"I've got to go Bryce. I'll call you later or you call me," Rae said.

"'Kay Rae, talk to you later," Bryce said.

"Bye." Bryce sighed as he closed his phone.

Deciding there was nothing else do on his walk, Bryce went home.

There was a box in the corner of his room was labeled "Bryce's Books." He opened it and pulled out a book, hoping some reading would kill a few hours since he had nothing else to do.

Back in Albuquerque:

"Rae's in love! Rae's in love!" Monique sang.

"Shut it Monique. I'm not in love, and Bryce is only a friend," Rae said pushing her friend.

"Well I bet you have a secret crush on him!" Monique said, regaining her balance while still managing to keep her ten shopping bags on her arms.

"You lose a bet then, 'cause I only like Bryce as a friend," Rae said. "Whatever you say Rae, whatever you say…" Monique shrugged.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: here's chapter 3**

**DISCLAIMER: don't own HSM or the original characters**

**CLAIMER: I do own Reyna, Bryce, Braun, Monique, etc. **

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New Jersey:

"Mom, where're we moving to?" Bryce asked.

It was starting to irritate him that she wouldn't say.

"It's a surprise Bryce. You'll find out at the airport," Gabi said.

"Ugh!" Bryce groaned running his fingers through his hair. Just then, Carlos walked into the room. "Dad, do you know?" Bryce asked.

"I sure do," Carlos said.

"Where are we going then?" Bryce asked.

"Can't say," Carlos said.

"But dad!" Bryce whined.

"Hey, I swore to your mother I wouldn't tell you," Carlos explained.

"C'mon dad, what can mom possible do the YOU?" Bryce asked, gesturing to his father's fairly built biceps and strong four pack.

"Oh, you do not want to go there," Carlos said, earning a playful slap from Gabi. Bryce sighed and said, "I think I'm going to go take a walk. I'll be home in an hour or so." "Okay Bryce," Gabi said as her son walked out the door.

Once Bryce was at the end of his block, he pulled his cell phone out of his jacket pocket and dialed Rae.

"Hello?"

"Hey Rae, it's Bryce."

"Oh, hey Bryce. What's up?" Rae asked.

"My mom and dad won't tell me where we're moving to, and it's driving me crazy!" Bryce complained.

"That sucks," Rae said.

"I know," Bryce agreed.

"She hasn't dropped ANY hints?" Rae asked.

"Nope, no a single one." "That really sucks," Rae said. "I know!" Bryce agreed.

The two teens talked over the phone for an hour and a half before Rae had to go practice basketball. "I'll talk to you later, ok?" Rae asked. "Okay, talk to you later," Bryce said hanging up his cell.

On his way home, Bryce started singing "Start of Something New."

As he walked into the house, he didn't notice his mom in the living room and he continued, "I never knew that it could happen till it happened to me, oh, yeah!" Then he heard, "I didn't know it before, but now it's easy to see, OOOHHH!" It was his mom. Together, they sang, "It's the start, of something new. It feels so right to be here with you, oh! And now looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart, that it's the start of something new. It feels so right to be here with you, oh! And now looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart, the start of something new." "Start of something new." "Start of something new…"

Then, Gabi turned the corner and saw Bryce standing there. They both had smiles on their faces.

'He sounds so much like Troy,' she thought.

'I wonder how she knows that song,' Bryce wondered before saying, "Wow mom, I didn't know you could still sing like that."

Gabi just shrugged.

"Mom, can I ask you something?" Bryce questioned.

"Sure Bryce, go ahead," Gabi said.

She headed into the kitchen, her son on her heels.

"That night at the lodge, what did you mean when you talked to Rae's dad?" Bryce asked.

Gabi's soft smile faded and she said, "It's between Mr. Bolton and I, and it's in the past Bryce."

"Mom, won't you please tell me?" Bryce asked.

"Bryce, I can't talk about it. It just… doesn't seem right anymore," Gabi said. Bryce decided not to push the subject any further and went up to his room.

Two days later, Bryce, Gabi, and Carlos were standing in an airport terminal going through the process.

"Plane now boarding for Albuquerque, New Mexico," a voice said over the terminal intercom.

Bryce got an excited look on his face and asked, "We're moving back to Albuquerque?"

"Yeah, your mom got a job teaching advanced chemistry at one of the local high schools," Carlos said.

"I won't get too attached," Bryce sighed.

"Bryce, I made my company promise that I can't get transferred until you graduate, and this time, they signed a contract," Gabi said.

Bryce smiled widely and hugged his mom tight.

"Do you think I'll see Braun and Monique again?" Bryce asked, remembering his first friend friends.

Bryce, Monique, and Braun had been the best of friends in the "Mommy and Me" playgroup that Gabi had signed herself and her young son up for.

"I'm not sure Bryce," Gabi sighed, but she thought, 'I hope so.'

Gabi was dying to see Taylor again. Despite the fact that she had moved around so much, Gabi and Taylor had kept in touch, calling and e-mailing whenever they could. According to Taylor's last e-mail, Monique was captain of East High's Decathlon team and Braun was co-captain of East High's varsity basketball team with Troy's daughter, Reyna, as captain.

That was the only thing Gabi wasn't looking forward to in her new teaching position: working in the same building as Troy. They would have to see each other five days a week. It would be so difficult.

The flight to Albuquerque was long, but Bryce managed to make the best of it with messing around on his laptop, music on his iPod, and doodling in his sketchbook.

Beside his love for academics, Bryce was an amazing artist. It was a small side thing for him that people ushered him to pull full on, but Bryce wanted to read and learn and maybe become a chemistry teacher like his mom.

Just, without all the moving.

After the fourth time of moving in his life, Bryce had promised himself he'd only move for a job if it was interesting enough or if it was an emergency. Other than that, he would stay put in one place to grow up and maybe raise a family.

After the long flight, Bryce, Gabi, and Carlos rented a car to drive to the car dealership they were picking their new car up at.

Bryce, Gabi, and Carlos walked into the car show room where their car was.

"Which one is it mom?" Bryce asked.

"That one over there," Gabi said pointing across the room.

Bryce's jaw dropped. It was a sleek black Range Rover 2005.

"Never been used folks," the salesman said, "110 hot off the press."

Bryce was walking around the car now.

"Go ahead boy, see the inside," the salesman urged.

Bryce opened one of the back seat doors and climbed in. The interior was a soft leather in the perfect shade of light, creamy tan. Bryce looked up and saw that there was a DVD Player built into the ceiling. He pressed the ejecting button and the screen slowly came down. It was about six by eight inches. "We really get THIS car?" Bryce asked. Gabi nodded. Bryce smiled widely and went back to admiring the vehicle.

"RAE! COME DOWNSTAIRS! WE'RE GOING TO MEET THE NEW NEIGHBORS!" Troy shouted from the bottom of the stairs.

"But dad," Rae whined, "I'm on the phone with Monique."

"You can talk to Monique later. Right now, you're coming to meet the new neighbors," Troy said. Rae trudged down the stairs and exited the house with her father.

Troy rang the doorbell and smiled, preparing to greet his new neighbors warmly.

His smile fell when he saw Gabi standing in the doorway, but a smile crossed Rae's face when she saw Bryce behind his mother.

"Bryce? What're you doing here?" Rae asked excitedly.

"I live here in Albuquerque now," Bryce said. "That's awesome!" The two then took notice that their parents were completely silent.

"W-welcome to the neighborhood," Troy stuttered.

"Thanks," Gabi said bluntly.

"Who's at the door Gabs?" Carlos called walking into the foyer.

"Hi, I'm Troy Bolton. I live next door. Welcome to the neighborhood," Troy said sticking his hand out. "I'm Carlos Armando, and this is my wife Gabi and my son Bryce. We just moved here from New Jersey," Carlos said shaking Troy's hand. "I'm sorry my wife isn't here. She had to work today, but she really wanted to meet you," Troy said. "That's okay, you'll just have to come over another time so we can talk," Carlos suggested.

Gabi tried to hide the horror in her eyes, but Troy spotted it. It was clear that she didn't want to see Troy.

"Yeah, I think Rachelle would like that," Troy said.

"Gabs, why so quiet?" Carlos asked. "Oh, uh, no reason," Gabi said, "I'm going to go put some of the dishes away. I'll be in the kitchen." "Okay," Carlos shrugged.

"Bryce, could you come and help me?" Gabi asked. Bryce looked from his mom to Reyna.

"Mom, can't I hang out with Rae?" Bryce asked innocently. "I guess," Gabi shrugged before turning around and walking away.

"C'mon Bryce, I'll show you a lay-up I'm learning for the championship game coming up," Rae said grabbing Bryce's wrist and dragging him off to her house.

"I don't know what's with Gabi," Carlos said shaking his head, "Right before you came over, she was all excited about coming back and being here and finding old friends."

"What do you mean 'coming back'?" Troy asked.

"Well, we've moved around a lot because of Gabi's job, and now she got an offer here in Albuquerque and she immediately accepted. You see, our son Bryce was born here and he made friends with Gabi's old friends' kids. Their names were Braun and Monique I think. Their parents were really nice people," Carlos explained.

"Chad and Taylor Danforth," Troy said. "That's them; how do you know them?" Carlos asked. "Chad's my best friend. We all went to high school together. Gabi and I used to be friends," Troy said.

"You did?" Carlos asked. He looked confused.

"Yeah, didn't Gabi ever tell you about her high school friends?" Troy questioned.

"She did, but she never mentioned a Troy Bolton. She talked about Chad, Taylor, Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke, Jason, and Kelsey, but she never said anything about you," Carlos said.

Troy sighed inwardly and said, "Gabi and I had a little conflict back in sophomore year in college and after that, we didn't keep in touch."

"I met Gabi when I was in junior year and she was in sophomore. We had an instant connection. She told me that hanging out with me was-" Carlos started, and

Troy finished, "Just like kindergarten."

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Carlos asked. 'Because she used to tell me that,' Troy thought before saying, "She used to talk about how in kindergarten, you'd know nothing about the kid sitting next to you, and then ten seconds later you were playing like old friends because you didn't have to be anyone but yourself."

"So how'd you and Gabi meet?" Troy asked. "We had chemistry together. Our teacher paired us up for a project and we started talking and then we'd go to her dorm to study, and eventually, we ended up going out. I proposed to her at her graduation. She accepted, but before she did, she sort of stared off into space with an empty look in her eyes. I don't know what was going through her mind, but now we're happily married and have Bryce," Carlos explained.

"Is your son starting at East High?" Troy asked. Carlos nodded. "I'm basketball captain and gym teacher there. Is Bryce into sports?" Troy asked.

"Nah, Bryce is more of a scholastic person. He's always reading. He took after his mother," Carlos said.

"Gabi was such a bookworm in school. If there was one thing you could find in her hand, it was a book," Troy laughed, Carlos joining in.

"Hey, I've got to go run some errands, so I'm sorry to bail," Carlos apologized.

"It's ok," Troy smiled. "Hey, come over anytime. It seems like our kids are already friends," Carlos said.

"Yeah," Troy sighed before walking back to his house.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Troy called Chad to tell him the big news.

"Hey man, what's up?" Chad asked picking up the phone.

"Chad, you won't believe it!" Troy shouted.

"Uh, I can't believe it if I don't hear it!" Chad said.

"Chad, Gabi is my new neighbor," Troy said.

"What?" Chad asked.

"Gabi lives two houses down from me," Troy said.

"Dude, this is great! You and her can make up now!" Chad said.

"Chad no, she doesn't seem to happy to see me. You should have seen her face at the ski lodge," Troy said.

"Ski lodge; what ski lodge?" Chad asked.

Troy explained what had happened when he went to get Rae.

"Whoa man, that was harsh of her," Chad said.

"Her son is starting at East High next week," Troy said.

"Gabi has a son? I thought she'd never get over you!" Chad exclaimed.

"She found another guy, but he's really nice. His name is Carlos Armando," Troy explained.

"Wow, so Gabi moved on…" Chad said, obviously trying to process the meaning of it all.

"Yeah, but so did I, and now I have Rachelle and Rae and the life I always dreamed of," Troy said.

"Except Gabi isn't in it the way you want her to be," Chad said. He had always known that Troy still liked Gabi because she had been his first true love.

"Chad, stop it. I'm married now. I can't like another woman, especially since she and I are at distance now," Troy said.

"At distance; what are you talking about? She's starting teaching at East High when school starts back up next week!" Chad shouted into the phone.

"WHAT?" Troy asked.

He knew that Gabi's son was starting at East High, but he didn't know that she was going to be teaching there.

"How did you know that and I didn't?" Troy asked.

"Well, Gabi called Taylor two weeks ago and said she was moving back because Matsui offered her a teaching job. Apparently, she accepted," Chad shrugged.

"And you didn't bother to tell me this before?" Troy asked in an irritated tone.

"Hey, you can't blame me. I… I forgot ok. You know I have a short attention span!" Chad shouted angrily into the phone.

Troy chuckled; Chad was always forgetting things.

"Sorry man, it's just, this is happening so fast. Gabi moves next door, I find out she's a wife and mother, and now she and I will be working at the same building. It's going to be awkward Chad, and I just want to patch things up with her," Troy confessed.

"Well then what are you waiting for? Go over there and start… patching," Chad pressed.

"Chad, I don't know if I can, I mean, I want to, but then again, it would be so weird," Troy sighed.

"Well man, you can either take it, or you can leave it. The choice is yours," Chad said before hanging up.

Troy hung up the phone, thinking about the last thing that Chad had said.

Later that night at the Bolton residence during dinner, Chad's words floated through Troy's mind again, 'You can either take it, or you can leave it. The choice is yours…'

"Dad, Dad, are you ok?" Rae asked, noticing the blank expression on her father's face.

"Oh, yeah; I'm fine," Troy lied.

"Are you sure Troy? You've barely touched your dinner," Rachelle said with an uncertain tone.

"I'm fine, really; I'm just… fine," Troy gulped. He hated lying, especially to Rachelle and Rae.

He'd only done it once before, but that had been about something completely different; nowhere near Troy's high school sweetheart.

At the Armando residence, Gabi and family were chatting about how East High was starting up in a week.

"So mom, I was thinking about joining the Scholastic Decathlon," Bryce said before taking a bit of his dinner.

"That's my boy," Carlos said, ruffling his son's hair.

When Bryce had told his parents when he was eight that he wanted to be a teacher, they encouraged him to do his best.

"Sounds great Bryce," Gabi said softly.

"You ok mom? You seem a little… off," Bryce said, his voice brimming with concern.

His mother was usually so talkative and bubbly, but ever since Troy and Rae had come over that afternoon, she'd gone quiet and dull; in other words, very un-Gabi-like.

"I'm fine Bryce, just a little nervous," Gabi half-lied.

"Gabs, there's no need for you to be nervous; you're a great teacher! Besides, Taylor is working there and Chad's the assistant coach. You already have two friends there," Carlos said.

"You're right Carlos, it's just, I haven't seen that school in ages. I'm nervous that the kids will be disrespectful or something," Gabi said.

"How could anyone be disrespectful to you?" Carlos asked.

Gabi smiled softly as her husband placed a sweet kiss on her cheek.

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A/N: I know it's been forever since I've updated this, but since Lissical came out with her newest story "Time Flies" it inspired me to update this story! More updates will probably be coming soon.


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